Delhi Holidays

Delhi Travel Guide

Moving through a sweltering bazaar, with each vendor crying out
louder than the next, and clamouring through a sweaty crowd, a
beggar tugs at your shirt as the sticky stench of the city pierces
your nostrils. Navigate your way across the road through a
perennial traffic jam of blasting horns and angry shouts, and
suddenly you'll find yourself stepping through the trees into a
deserted courtyard, flanked by gurgling ponds below the huge
glittering dome of an ornately patterned mosque.

This is Delhi, city of contrasts, where an elephant can overtake an
overheated Italian sports car on the streets, where colonial
mansions stand next to squatter slums, and where cows are revered,
but musicians are labelled 'untouchable'. The city's pace is
chaotic, yet strangely relaxed, making it ideal for exploring.
You're certain to be confronted with some strange and exotic
sights.

With a long and troubled history, Delhi is full of fascinating
temples, museums, mosques and forts, each with a distinctive
architectural style. In Old Delhi, visitors will find a charming
selection of colourful bazaars and narrow winding alleys. In
comparison, New Delhi - the city created to reflect the might of
the British Empire - consists of tree-lined avenues, spacious parks
and sombre-looking government buildings.

While Delhi itself could take a lifetime to explore, it's also
ideal as a base for visiting the Taj Mahal in Agra, and it provides
the best links for travelling to the hill stations of the
North.

Getting Around

Fleets of metered taxis, auto-rickshaws and cycle-rickshaws clog
the streets of Delhi providing transport for locals and visitors.
Rates fluctuate, but drivers should have rate charts available and
tourists should ensure the meter is reset, or a price negotiated
before departure. A ring railway starts and ends at the Hazrat
Nizamuddin Railway Station with trains running in both clockwise
and anti-clockwise directions around the city. The Delhi Transport
Corporation runs a large fleet of buses covering the entire city,
but these are always overcrowded. The frequency of buses drops
during the off-peak time between 1pm and 2.30pm but there are night
service buses on selected routes and from the three main railway
stations between 11pm and 5am. The first line of an ambitious Mass
Rapid Transport System (MRTS) was recently opened, covering 14
miles (22km) and18 stations between Shahdara, Tri Nagar and
Rithala. A further two lines are under construction and the entire
project is scheduled for completion by 2021. It is not advised to
hire a car in Delhi as the driving is frenetic and the traffic
overwhelming. There are parts of the city where walking is the best
way to take in the sights and sounds, but in general you will need
transport to get around.

Customs

India is a tolerant society, but visitors should educate
themselves about its religious and social customs so as not to
cause offence: for example, smoking in public was banned in 2008.
When visiting temples visitors will probably be required to remove
their footwear and cover their heads. Generally, women should dress
more conservatively than (perhaps) they are used to doing at home,
both to respect local sensibilities and to avoid unwanted
attention. Topless bathing is illegal. Indians do not like to
disappoint, and often instead of saying 'no', will come up with
something that sounds positive, even if incorrect. Social order and
status are very important in Indian culture - remain respectful and
obliging with elders. Avoid using your left hand, particularly when
eating.

Passport/Visa

Visa extensions are not possible for tourist visas. Other visas
may be eligible for extensions, which are applied for through the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Holders of multiple-entry Tourist Visas (visa type code "T"),
with a validity ranging from above three months and up to 10 years,
are no longer required to leave a gap of at least two months
between visits unless they are nationals from Afghanistan, China,
Iran, Pakistan, Iraq, Sudan and Bangladesh.

Note that a yellow fever vaccination certificate is required, if
arriving in India within six days of leaving or transiting through
heavily infected areas. Also note that the following areas of India
are restricted, and require that visitors obtain a permit BEFORE
entering them: (Protected Areas) parts of the state of Manipur,
parts of the state of Mizoram, parts of the state of Arunachal
Pradesh, the whole state of Nagaland, the whole State of Sikkim,
parts of the state of Uttaranchal, parts of the state of Jammu and
Kashmir, parts of the state of Rajasthan, parts of the state of
Himachal Pradesh; (Restricted Areas) the whole of the union
territory of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, part of the state of
Sikkim. If surface travel is involved, and nationals travel via
restricted areas, they require a "pass" issued by either the
Foreigners Regional Registration Office (located in each major
Indian city), or the Superintendent of Police (located in each
Indian district), or the diplomatic representation of India in
Bhutan or Nepal.

NOTE: It is highly recommended that your passport has at least
six months validity remaining after your intended date of departure
from your travel destination. Immigration officials often apply
different rules to those stated by travel agents and official
sources.